Record Group 116
Processed by: DS, 7/18/2011
Accession: 116-11-0712
Date Span: 1946
Historical Sketch: Temple Emanu-el, the Reform Jewish synagogue of Dothan, Alabama, was founded in January
1929. It met in rented space until completing its current building in 1941 (additions
completed in 1963, major renovation in 1998) at the corner of N. Park and W. Burdeshaw.
Though always small, the congregation has established a significant presence in the
mostly Protestant Christian community of Dothan, initiating many ecumenical and cultural
events. The history of the Temple is a small but important part of the history of
the locality, the state, and of the Jews in the American South.
See the website "Temple Emanu-El, Dothan, Alabama," http://dothantemple.org/ (accessed
November 10, 2011).
Scope / Content Note: Contains CD of PDF scan of handwritten book by C. Davis Turner entitled, "Book of
Memory: dedicated to those who came after us at the Bar Mitzvah of Walter Raymond
Turner, April 17, 1942 - Temple Emanu-El, Dothan, AL."
Turner writes a history of the Temple Emanu-El congregation and other Jews of SE Alabama,
SW Georgia, and North Florida in the first 21 pages, 1890 - 1941. From pages 21 through
130, he provides a diary of the Emanu-El congregation from the dedication of the new
Temple building on September 14, 1941, through the departure of Rabbi Wolf and family
on June 19, 1946. Davis includes a newspaper clipping of the 1950 installation of
Rabbi Meyer Marx.
Provenance: Provided by Rabbi Lynn Goldsmith and the Congregation in 2011. Original remains with donor.
Processing Notes: Scanned into PDF by staff members of the Archives of Wiregrass History and Culture at ÁùºÏ±¦µä--Dothan Campus, July 29-30, 2008.
Access/User Limits? Open per gift agreement, 8-14-2012
INVENTORY
Book of Memory by C. Davis Turner
Last Updated: 02/28/2014